


Guinea Pig

by Nerdy_JD



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: AU, Angst, Guinea Pig!Karma, Light Angst, Platonic Relationships, Scientist!Gakushuu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 20:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8224529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdy_JD/pseuds/Nerdy_JD
Summary: “I… I don’t know what to do right now.”The person opposite him huffed with hopelessness that didn’t do a single thing to render his internal pain. “You don’t have to do anything.”“But isn’t that why I'm here?” He asked with some vigour. The hurting was slowly ebbing away and being replaced with the unwanted and erratic feeling of anger. “I'm only here as your guinea pig, right? For you to run tests on?”





	

**Author's Note:**

> This idea has been swimming around in my head for some time now, I'm glad I can finally get it out. Apologies if Karma and/or Gakushuu seem a bit OOC – then again, it is an AU.  
> Please enjoy…

The gentle hum of the clean, white room greeted his senses again, as it did every morning. His fingers twitched before he sat up, a mind hazy with sleep. Clothed in a white shirt a size too big with matching stark pants. If he felt especially cold in the tiled room then he’d get a pair of socks. A numb palm rubbed over his tired eyes, rousing his awakening brain.

Soon a soft ding resounded through the still room and drew his attention.

Today, Gakushuu was dressed in his signature suit, only this time he wore a faded orange shirt with a black tie, blazer and slacks. The only thing casual about the choice of clothing was the worn out orange sneakers. Resting on his arm was a note pad with a shining silver pen clipped at the top.

“How are you doing today?” His solemn and calm voice inquired. The other boy dressed all in white perked up at the question and dragged a hand through the striking red hair, the only pop of colour in the room besides his sunset eyes.

“I’m good. I’m ready for today.” He responded with a small smile tugging at his lips. His skin was pale from lack of sunlight, making his hair look redder than it would have normally been. His body was frail and slightly thinner than most but he was tall and slender.

Gakushuu nodded his head and scribbled down on his pad, “That’s great. We’re going outside today.” He announced and carefully watched the shifting of the others face.

“Outside?” Gakushuu nodded in reply, “What’s outside?” he inquired further and tugged at the sleeves of his shirt. The Strawberry blonde haired boy smiled and tucked the pen away, as well as the notepad. Karma’s been open to trying new things recently, Gakushuu wondered if it was because he’d taken over running the tests.

“Well, Karma, outside is a lot greener than in here.” he stated with a quiet laugh, causing the red head the scrunch his face up in question. “And the temperature changes.” He didn’t want to reveal too much before they left, it would defeat the purpose of the exercise.

“What will I be doing outside?” Karma asked, leg bouncing with anticipation. Sure, they’d been gradually introducing the boy to new things and experiences but this was the first major change. Gakushuu didn’t know – and was excited to see – how Karma would react. The only danger was his health, being kept in a monitored and clean environment all his life would certainly take a huge toll once he finally got outside. But it was expected, that’s why Gakushuu had outside air be filtered through the vents this past month.

“We’ll be exploring.” Gakushuu said, watching the slight heighten of Karma’s brow, his face masking the obvious overthinking.

Karma then hopped off the bed, determination plastered across his face. “Can we go now?” But then he paused. “Don’t I need a change of clothes?”

Well, his intelligence couldn’t be mistaken, none of the other subjects ever noted the clothes. “And why would you need that?” Gakushuu prompted.

Karma seemed nervous, toying with his sleeves again. “Well, _you_ always change clothes and you come from outside.” He attempted to clarify. Gakushuu busied himself with scribbling down more notes, Karma has been more aware recently as well.

“You’re right Karma. I’m giving you something else to wear if you’re okay with that.” Karma nodded enthusiastically, a bright stretch of his mouth to reveal an innocent smile hiding the menace just beyond that.

Gakushuu was cautious, making sure to reduce staff that day, especially since they weren’t supposed to be running tests on any of the subjects. The only people who were here were security and a few scientists but they were paid off easily enough. The only problem would really be the subject doctors, they would be doing routine checks ever five hours, so he had to have Karma back before then. Luckily he still had another three hours to observe his redhead.

Karma was special indeed, not like any of the other people he’d experimented on. He didn’t hesitate to voice his opinions and that’s exactly what Gakushuu needed – it was the whole point of these tests. Other subjects had died because they couldn’t speak up about what they were feeling.

Of course the tests weren’t necessarily high priority. They were just looking into way on how humans can learn to block out certain unwanted emotions or feelings. It was a long shot but the data gathered in these experiments might prove useful.

Karma hadn’t been subjected to a lot of the more… physical tests yet, they focused more on emotional development. The people in charge were getting sick of losing people because they were either too afraid or too clueless to realize they were on the verge of death – plus the scientists didn’t exactly make theirs subject’s health a priority.

Gakushuu was assigned to Karma only a few months prior, the redhead had been there his entire life and was due to start his time as a guinea pig. Gakushuu soon took over, seeing as the boy took a liking to him. Which was good – for the tests.

After carefully guiding the boy down the sterilised white walls of the labs, Gakushuu showed Karma his change of clothes. Laid out before the boy was a simple red shirt and, black jeans, sneakers and a beanie to hide his hair. Gakushuu also had to sneak a lab coat out so that the others wouldn’t get suspicious.

When Gakushuu nodded his head in the clothes direction, Karma was like a child seeing a new toy for the first time. He felt over the soft fabric of his shirt, the rough texture of the jeans and eyed the shoes weirdly.

Gakushuu laughed, “You put them on your feet, like mine.” Nevertheless, Gakushuu had to help the redhead get his shoes on as well as the rest of his new attire.

When they were both ready – Gakushuu with notepad in hand and Karma sufficiently covered – the strawberry blonde led them to a back door a few stories up. Karma’s floor was a lot further down, they didn’t want anyone getting near test subjects and the actual research labs were far deeper.

“Okay, Karma, some ground rules before we head out.” Gakushuu paused in front of a faded white door with the words **_‘Exit’_** plastered across it in large white letters white a blood red background. Karma was tugging at the hem of his shirt, nervous, excited, and slightly scared. “If you’re not feeling well, tell me immediately. No holding back, okay?”

“When do I ever?” Karma replied, smile tugging up the corners of his mouth. At least he was optimistic.

Gakushuu pushed the door open, Karma followed him up another flight of white steel steps before they emerged outside.

The bright sunshine had Karma rapidly blinking and lifting his hands up to shield his eyes. “The sun’s a little brighter than I expected.” The redhead commented and attempted to gaze around him. “Breathings a bit harder too.” He mumbled out. Gakushuu jotted down every word, backing away to give Karma more room to move around.

The strawberry blonde was a little hesitant, thinking that Karma wouldn’t be able to handle the abrupt change of atmosphere, but it appears he was wrong. Thankfully so. He smiled fondly, but it soon vanished when the memory of his last subject sprouted through the thick blockage of wall he put up.

Feelings of panic, dread and agonising failure came flooding back with such an intense force it had the boy’s hands shaking.

_“Ren, you need to tell me exactly how you’re feeling okay?”_

_The other boy waved his hand dismissively, “Yeah, sure.” He then returned to admiring the strange sight of actual grass beneath his fingertips._

_This was a great idea, getting the subject out in the open like this was definitely not only going to improve his mood but also make him more comfortable with new tests. Gakushuu fiddled with the notepad, this was his first time in charge of running the show. He was comfortable but still getting used to taking care of another human being._

_“Is… the air supposed to be this…” he couldn’t seem to find the words, already struggling to stay conscience. Ren dropped to his knee’s weakly holding onto his neck._

_“Oh god, you can’t breathe.” Gakushuu stated and immediately lifted the other off the ground where he’d collapsed. One hand hung over his shoulder while he basically dragged Ren’s limp body to the door, calling for help._

_He died the next day due to infection._

The experience was not something Gakushuu would like to remember and he’d taken special care to make sure Karma wouldn’t get infected so easily and that he would be semi-used to the air outside. He didn’t want to relive that.

Karma kneeled on the grass and Gakushuu rushed his side, worry clouding his mind for the briefest of seconds. “Karma, are you okay?” he couldn’t withhold the shake in his voice.

“Yeah. I'm good, just…” the boy closed his eyes and fell face first onto the grass.

“Shit, shit, shit. Karma!” Gakushuu dropped his notepad and crouched to shake the fallen boy. “Come on, I told you to speak to me.” Just as his shaking began Karma let out a long groan.

“Can’t I enjoy this feeling for a few more minutes?” Karma was annoyed, clearly showing his unimpressed expression to a confused and surprised Gakushuu.

“The grass?” Karma nodded and returned to smashing his face into the itchy greenery. Gakushuu smiled and retracted his hand before retrieving his notepad once again. At least the redhead was enjoying himself.

“Why is it so hard to breathe?” Karma exhaled, flopped onto his back and stared up at the sky. He reached his hand up and wafted it through the air. His eye’s had gotten used to the brightness a while ago and now he was freely surveying every little detail he amber-red irises could spot, providing Gakushuu with plenty noteworthy sensations and sights.

“The air you’re used to is filtered and sterilized, much cleaner than what’s out here.” Gakushuu explained and huffed, “I’ve been filtering normal air into your room as to lessen the shock to your system, and I’d say it worked.” Karma hummed in acknowledgment just as Gakushuu glanced at his watch.

“Well, I think it’s about time we head back.”

Karma whined, “Already? Can’t I stay out a little longer?” Gakushuu was already at the door and patiently waiting for the redhead to get up.

“Unfortunately not, I don’t even have permission to have you out of your room so it’s best we not get caught.” The blonde reasoned and opened the door back into the secured building.

Karma stood up with a wide grin on his face, “We’re doing something we’re not supposed to? How fun!” he had a bounce in his step as he entered the building. Gakushuu followed, shaking his head and chuckling at the mischievous side to Karma.

They were walking down the clean and plain walls of the building in silence, encountering no scientists or guards along the way. It was unsettling, but Gakushuu was thankful.

And then a bomb went off.

Another followed.

Gakushuu was on the ground before he knew it, trying to stop his body from shaking under the unsteady floor and unstable walls. He reached over to Karma and dragged the boy quickly down the hallway which was now bathed in blood red from the flashing warning lights. Alarms screeched all around them, the white walls pulsing with the constant flashing of red light and still no one could be seen scurrying through the hallways.

Gakushuu decided to ignore that tiny fact for the moment, instead he focused on getting Karma safely back to his room. But when he entered the elevator he saw that all the other floors were block aside from the information block. Jabbing his finger against the button he watched as the shinning metal doors slowly closed the gap with a soft ding – unheard under the loud noise around them.

Behind him he could hear Karma’s shallow breaths, the boy was shaking and pressing against the cool mirror of the confined metal box. “J-just calm down, ‘kay, you’re going to be okay. We’re both going to be okay.” Karma nodded, eyes wide and hands harshly clutching his chest. “Karma, focus on breathing.” Gakushuu commanded in a calm, firm tone.

Karma heaved, gripping the silver railing behind him, tears prickled his eyes. This was too much, too soon. “Hey, come on, just focus on me.” Gakushuu cupped his face and breathed in deeply through his nose only to exhale through his mouth. He then prompted Karma to do the same. By the time they reached the lower levels of the lab Karma had steadied his breathing and was slowly following Gakushuu down the narrow, much darker passages.

It was a comforting sight to see a few of Gakushuu’s colleagues rushing around the cramped control room.

“What’s he doing out of his room?!” A frantic voice called out through the frenzy of bodies. Gakushuu couldn’t tell who it was and chose to ignore it. He walked over to one of the consoles and checked over all their subjects, maybe one of them escaped (Besides Karma)?

The tapping on his shoulder drew his attention and Gakushuu smile at seeing a familiar face.

Karma followed closely, feeing uneasy with all the people currently surrounding him. His eyes flickered over the multiply screens, each showing lists of different information. What caught his eye though was the tiny folder that seemed to stand out among the rest, **_‘Subject E5 – KARMA AKABANE’_**. Checking to see that Gakushuu was sufficiently distracted and engrossed in his conversation, Karma awkwardly took hold of the mouse and dragged it over the folder. He didn’t know what to do next but figured that the enter key was the way to go.

With a click the folder sprang open and Karma quickly read over the multitude of words littered across the screen. With each pocket of new information his eyes grew wider, his heart pounded louder and his vision began gradually blurring.

Hearing Gakushuu come to a close with his discussion, Karma backed away from the screen and searched the room for anyway to get out. The blonde quickly saw the redheads rising panic and reached a hand out, only to have the distance between them increase. Karma’s eyes narrowed in on a grey door not too far from him. There.

Rushing past frantic people, Karma managed to escape the claustrophobic confines room and exit to a much quieter space. The walls were blocked by large machines, grey and black with lights flashing silently inside them. Gakushuu entered afterward, having seen the computer screen, and closed the door behind them.

The silence draped over the pair was almost suffocating.

He didn’t breathe. He didn’t blink. He didn’t speak or make a single sound to break the thick hum of noiseless air. The only vibration that echoed through the room was the patter of droplets falling from his chin and into the red shirt.

He felt numb, emotionless and uncontrollable in that moment. The entire atmosphere of the room was daunting and apprehension settled in the pit of his stomach.

Finally, giving up the effort to hold his breath, he took a shaky gulp of stale air. Though it sounded more like a hiccup than anything else. The air in here was so different from outside, so much cleaner – it made him sick.

His fingers tingled with a dark fear that had decided to creep up on him, his jaw was slack to prevent him from speaking. His thoughts were swimming in oceans of pain, violent waves crashing down on his brain and making every thought a resounding tsunami. It hurt.

Not knowing what else to say or do, and not really caring, he spoke up with a heaving tongue and clouded mind. With a voice as soft as a frightened mouse and hoarse as if he’d been shouting for years, “I… I don’t know what to do right now.”

The person opposite him huffed with hopelessness that didn’t do a single thing to render his internal pain. “You don’t have to do anything.”

“But isn’t that why I'm here?” He asked with some vigour. The hurting was slowly ebbing away and being replaced with the unwanted and erratic feeling of anger. “I'm only here as your guinea pig, right? For you to run tests on?”

The heavy weight of finding out his true purpose in life was more than enough to crush him. Maybe that’s why he felt as if the air he was breathing was fake or what he was feeling wasn’t real or that his entire life was a made up story. His brain was a fuzzy mess of diluted thoughts that he couldn’t make out and couldn’t hold back.

He laughed, quietly, tears streaming down his face, arms clutched around his torso. He was such an idiot, how did he not see what was happening? But then again, how could he have? This was the only life he knew.

“Karma…” Gakushuu reached a hand out, trying once again to comfort the confused redhead.

Karma backed into a corner, laughing having subsided to shallow giggles, “Please don’t. Please just don’t.” Don’t what? He didn’t know himself.

“We’ll sort this out and then…”

“And then _what_?” Karma spat, hands clenched at his side and hair falling carelessly over his face and shielding his eyes. “I go back to that room? Everything goes back to the way it was? You go back to running tests on me? Then _what_ Gakushuu?”

The blonde winced at the sharp tone, but Karma had a point.

What _would_ happen?

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, don’t you just hate me for ending it there? Mwahaha! I was planning to make it longer, how Karma deals with the change, but I thought it’s best for you guys to formulate your own outcomes. Maybe I’ll continue this in the future?  
> I have to say, the fans in this fandom are so very supportive! I was not expecting this much feedback, but I'm so HAPPY because of it! You guys are phenomenal, really, you are.  
> Thanks so much for reading (sadly it’s not my best writing, but what you can do?) please feel free to leave your thoughts if you’ve got the time. THANK YOU!


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